5S is a visual workplace-organisation methodology in five sequential steps, each beginning in Japanese with the letter S: Seiri (sort — keep only what is needed), Seiton (set in order — a place for everything), Seiso (shine — clean the workstation and equipment), Seiketsu (standardise — define how it should look), Shitsuke (sustain — the discipline to keep it from slipping back).
Seemingly trivial, 5S is often the first step of a lean transformation and the hardest to sustain. Installing 5S once is easy; keeping 5S going over the years takes cultural discipline. Periodic audits, each workstation with its visual standard, leaders who set the example — without these, the workstation regresses within weeks.
5S reduces time lost searching for tools, improves safety (fewer trips, fewer accidents), makes anomaly detection easier (a tool out of place stands out), and creates the visual foundation for other lean tools. For industrial software such as KORA Productivity, physical 5S finds its echo in the digital: clean interfaces, screens organised by task, relevant information right where it is needed.